1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to automatic bale accumulators and in particular to an improved latching mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The automatic hay bale accumulator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,402 is pulled over the ground to accumulate bales of hay and automatically discharges the bales when the accumulator is filled. A rear gate is pivotally supported and is automatically unlatched when the accumulator is filled and allows the bales to pass out of the accumulator. After the last bale has passed out of the accumulator, the gate falls to the closed position and a lower locking shaft on the gate strikes the tapered portion of the gate latch mechanism to force the entire gate latch upwardly so that the gate can pass under it and lock. At times the weight of the gate latch is greater than the force applied by the closing gate and the gate may not raise the latch and the gate may remain unlocked and thus allow the bales to pass through the accumulator. At other times the inertia force provided by the downward swinging gate as it closes is so great that it causes the latches to bounce upwardly with such a velocity that it strikes the upper limiting stops with great force. It then swings downwardly with great velocity striking the lower stop with such force that it bounces upwardly again which allows the gate to strike its stop on its downward pivotal movement and bounce to a position such that the latches do not catch the gate and the gate will then be unlocked leaving the gate open which is, of course, undesirable.